What Will Travel Look Like After Coronavirus?

[Independent]

What Will Travel Look Like After Coronavirus?

To me, "After Coronavirus" means after we have an effective vaccine.

I expect that travel will return to where it was before. Maybe some extra volume due to pent up demand, but that is offset due to lingering recession as all this economic dislocation works its way through the system.

There may be more routine cleaning and less travel to China (worried about the nest big thing). I'm uncertain about airplanes. People may refuse to buy tickets if they are going to get stuck in the dreaded middle seat. (Before covid, I was looking at buying three seats for the two of us, I was that anxious for elbow room).

But, in general, people will want to get their lives back. I expect cruises will come back.

Between now and then, which I would call "during covid", it will be spotty and stop-and-go as outbreaks hit specific areas. People with RVs will get out first. We'll get news stories about survivors who can travel, and the rest of us will envy them.

 

[2017ish]

Dunno about cruises being cheap after this. We were scheduled to take our first big cruise (110 passengers) this November. That has been cancelled, but the same basic itinerary for 2021 is slightly higher in price. Maybe we should wait and see if it comes down in price. (Falklands, south Georgia, antarctic peninsula)

Presently in process of arranging 6+weeks in Patagonia in Feb and March. Business Class tickets still haven't come down much in price. Coach, OTOH....

 

[Moemg]

I think cruise lines will come back .Mainly because so many people have travel certificates they want to use from cruises cancelled this year .I do not think they will return to the volume they had and some ports may use this to cut the amount of cruise ships .Some ports were already considering it and now they have the perfect reason .

 

[ABQ2015]

Like @RedBadger, I am choppin at the bit to do some travel. When I did ER, travel was part of the equation for me. It was bad enough that I had to cancel my big Italy trip last month, and I cannot imagine also not being able to go anywhere for the rest of the year.

DW will probably be really mad a me, but I would at least like to do a week in the Badlands area, around the end of August or early September, seeing some of the parks and stuff I have not seen yet.

So, I think the airport and plane ride will be with a mask on. Hand sanitizer and hand washing will be prolific. Once I get there, the biggest exposure opportunities will be at restaurants, maybe some visitor centers / attractions, and at the nightly motels. I will have a mask on during these times. Mostly, it will be just me in a rental car, or hiking around, by myself.

With that in mind, would you do it, in August?

The part that scares me the most of about that trip is the air travel. Minneapolis might be a better hub than Chicago or DFW. I have a trip scheduled to Glacier National Park about that time but am driving and plan to stop along the way at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I made my lodging arrangements in the parks a year ago so am not yet ready to cancel my plans. I plan to bring a cooler with food and eat carryout most of the time to minimize time spent in restaurants since I am in a vulnerable group. And my lodging reservations offer free cancellation if I change my mind.

One of my concerns is whether states and regions in Phase III at that time will require any restrictions if you are traveling from a Phase II state (I am nervous that some parts of my state will not make good progress). Another concern is that everyone will be traveling domestically this year and the National Parks will be more crowded than usual. I might take Yellowstone off my list. Have never been to Badlands but that is supposed to be a much less visited park so a good choice.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Cruise pricing will be interesting. Some lines are more known for discounting, others not so much. As I mentioned in a travel forum thread, they'll likely try to go heavy on the perks like OBC's, free internet, etc and save price discounts for after final payment date. Of the limited searches I've done, I haven't found cruises they're giving away. I don't think it's in their interest to reprice yet either until things start opening up. A lot of lines are now shut down to June.

Airfare is also interesting in that with oil prices where they are, they are likely able take advantage of fuel hedging to allow for lower fares.
I'm curious with everyone audio/video conferencing now, how much that pushes companies to continue using it and reduce business travel

 

[camfused]

The part that scares me the most of about that trip is the air travel...

Yeah, I looked at driving, but it would add 6 days to the trip. I am not sure I want to do that right now. Well, you gave me some stuff to think about. Thanks.

A plan B trip is to just drive to Chicago to pick up something I want (a cello). It is 1.5 days each way, 3 nights in motels, and no air travel. Even that might take a lot of convincing for DW to let me do.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We sold our motor home in February before this got serious. We wouldn’t have used it anyways because when National parks are open they are busy.

 

[HI Bill]

Once (if) we have an effective vaccine, and enough of the world had an immunity, herd immunity should take over (mostly), and keep it from flaring up, except in countries where vaccines weren't routinely administered, and infection rates were low due to isolation. Just my non-doctor hypothesis. If this is true, no one will be looking for proof of immunity, it will just be part of life's risk.

 

[michelek]

I am comfortable with going to hotels. It is easy to social distance, and I am sure they will do their utmost to sanitize rooms to avoid liabilities. I will be less keen on vacation rentals. I was never an AirBnB fan, and am now even less so.

Social and physical distancing is MUCH easier in an Airbnb than a hotel!

I operate an Airbnb and I can tell you we clean the place better than any hotel ever thought about cleaning. Firstly, there’s no check in desk. You just let yourself in. Secondly, we wash every piece of linens between each guest. Thirdly, we disinfect and sanitize ALL hard surfaces (floors, switches, knobs, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry machines, tv remotes, tables, dishes, appliances) with bleach/and or Lysol. Fourthly, all soft surfaces are sprayed with Lysol.
Trust me if you chose my Airbnb you’d be infinitely safer than a hotel where the cleaning girls don’t care.
***We clean like this because WE don’t want to catch the virus from a guest. And we don’t want our guests to catch something from a prior guest. ***
During the outbreak, we even leave some time between guests to allow the place to REST.

It matters who your host is. Look for CDC guidelines in the listing and ask questions to the Airbnb host. You’ll be able to tell if that host gives a sh*t. I can tell you that I do care and all of the other hosts in my host group care tremendously more than any large hotel chain.

Please give Airbnb consideration for your next trip.

 

[Sunset]

Social and physical distancing is MUCH easier in an Airbnb than a hotel!

I operate an Airbnb and I can tell you we clean the place better than any hotel ever thought about cleaning. Firstly, there’s no check in desk. You just let yourself in. Secondly, we wash every piece of linens between each guest. Thirdly, we disinfect and sanitize ALL hard surfaces (floors, switches, knobs, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry machines, tv remotes, tables, dishes, appliances) with bleach/and or Lysol. Fourthly, all soft surfaces are sprayed with Lysol.
Trust me if you chose my Airbnb you’d be infinitely safer than a hotel where the cleaning girls don’t care.
***We clean like this because WE don’t want to catch the virus from a guest. And we don’t want our guests to catch something from a prior guest. ***
During the outbreak, we even leave some time between guests to allow the place to REST.

It matters who your host is. Look for CDC guidelines in the listing and ask questions to the Airbnb host. You’ll be able to tell if that host gives a sh*t. I can tell you that I do care and all of the other hosts in my host group care tremendously more than any large hotel chain.

Please give Airbnb consideration for your next trip.

I know I will, as Airbnb refunded my money long ago within 2 days of asking.
The hotels I've booked, 3 have said they will refund in 2 months and 1 says no refunds

 

[Freedom56]

For us, we will continue to fly Business/First class only. I am going to go out of my way to select airlines with the best isolated pod seating. We will wipe down everything before sitting. For domestic trans-continental flights, it will have to be Jet Blue mint suite seating only. We will avoid airlines flying the 737 Max for the next few years.

 

[camfused]

^^^ Once it is flying again, I suspect the 737 Max will be the safest plane you can fly in.

 

[ShadowBloom]

Travel has been a very big piece of my budget. But these events have me really rethinking that.


One of my big concerns in traveling abroad is the situation athena53 described, scrambling to make arrangements to get home due to sudden closures. I'm not comfortable with the possibility of finding myself in that situation, and would have to feel confident that covid is controlled to the point where that's unlikely to occur. (And then I'd have to weigh the possibility of a new situation arising). Traveling domestically or in an English-speaking country would reduce those hesitations somewhat.


The other big concern I have is that I very often travel with a group, which means spending hours every day in the bus with the same people, and switching seats every day, too. That seems like it might create exposure risks as bad or worse than airplanes. I'm not enjoying wearing masks on my short neighborhood walks, am not sure I'll be comfortable with it for the length of a plane ride, and definitely wouldn't want to mask up every day of my trip.

 

[Nemo2]

I figure I can just as easily die abroad as I can at home.

 

[CaliKid]

I will be traveling as soon as stuff is open. I'll be flying and perhaps wearing a mask at times. I'll have hand sanitizer with me. I'll wash my hands and try not to touch my face. Beyond that I will HAVE FUN!

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I figure I can just as easily die abroad as I can at home.

I would rather be able to share a common language with the medical team overseeing my death or nondeath experience if given the choice. But yes death will come indeed wherever we are when its time.

 

[Winemaker]

I have a trip to Denver planned in June; looking forward to it. Hell, I could be tested negative in the TSA line, and be positive when I get off the plane in Denver. It's not like I turn blue the moment the virus enters my body and everyone can see.

 

[Nemo2]

I would rather be able to share a common language with the medical team overseeing my death or nondeath experience if given the choice. But yes death will come indeed wherever we are when its time.

18 months ago I spent a few days in a Malaga, Spain, hospital....many English speakers on staff, excellent treatment.

English is the lingua franca.

 

[REWahoo]

It's not like I turn blue the moment the virus enters my body and everyone can see.

Yep, I understand you may not turn blue for several days, when your lungs can no longer absorb enough oxygen to keep you alive.

 

[Winemaker]

Yep, I understand you may not turn blue for several days, when your lungs can no longer absorb enough oxygen to keep you alive.

My point is that I can be tested negative, and be tested positive later in 24 hours. I can be social distancing, wearing a mask and gloves, in the mean time. The chance of me dying in a plane crash is possible, also.

As you may know, I worked in several underground coal mines for 35+ years, in freezing cold, in oxygen depleted areas, in explosive/dusty atmospheres, with explosives, worked on roof falls, worked with high voltage power, and people are telling me I'm gonna die if I go to the grocery store if I don't wear a mask and stay 6' apart from someone?